Medical thoracoscopy: Survey of current practice-How successful are medical thoracoscopists at predicting malignancy?

Use of medical thoracoscopy by respiratory physicians is increasing. This survey of experienced thoracoscopists was conducted to establish current practice of medical thoracoscopy and physicians' opinion of theoretical cases using 20 video clips. Results suggest an increasing trend towards day-case thoracoscopy but that caution is required when making diagnosis on macroscopic appearance: malignant and benign disease could only be differentiated in 59% of cases, and trapped lung is difficult to predict at thoracoscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]